Building block



March 15, 1938.

, W. P. ZIMMERMAN ET AL BUILDING BLOCK Filed May 26, 1936 W'.P.Zimmarman,

M.K.Hu1m es INVENTORS BY 4 /M/& v

$7M YS.

ATTO

Patented Mar. 1%, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Willard and Minot K. Holmes,

Muncle, Ind., asslgnors to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application May a, 1936, Serial No. 8mm

5 claims.

structed therefrom. More particularly the invention is concerned with blocks formed of glass 5 or other such vitreous materials.

An object of the invention is the provisionof a hollow building block composed of several sections. nited in such fashion that the parting line between the sections will be disposed bem tween the exposed faces of the block. Thus, the parting .line or joint when the blocks are built into a wall structure, will have the benefit of the protection and added strength aiforded by the mortar or other medium employed in joining the 15 blocks together and further will not be exposed to view.

with an inorganic bonding medium such for example as aluminum, aluminum silicon alloy or other suitable metal.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view sections prior to assembly.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the block halves assembled.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view intended to illustrate the manner in which a portion. of

the bonding material is absorbed by the glass as the block halves are united. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary f1 sectional view illustrating a glass-to-glass bond between the block halves.

5 is a fragmentary sectional perspective 'view of a wall made up of blocks of the. character shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

This application is a con our application, Serial No.

1935, now Patent #2,094,287 as to all subject matter common-to the two applications.

tinuation in part of 21,095 .flled May 13,

-While the present invention may be embodied I in blocks ofdiiferent shapes and contours, it is rectangular block made up for the purpose of illustration identified with a of two hollow cuplike sections or halves which are intended to be united or joined together in a fashion to form a To this 50 end the block-halves are united .as quickly as possible following the molding operation which involves shaping the cup-like halves from molten 1 glass or the like material.

In Figs. 1, 2, and

' prlsing two half sections, ea

3 the block is shown as comch of which includes of two half block parallel longitudinal walls it joined together by transverse end walls Ill, all of said walls merging at one edge in a bottom wall l which constitutes one exposed face of a completed block.

While the two block halves may be united by 5 bringing the edge portions it into contact with each other under pressure while still quite hot and in a more or less semiplastic state, as shown in Fig. 4, they may also be united by placing a thin sheet of aluminum foil l d on the edge of one block half and then properly positioning the Ill other half upon the sheet of foil. When such assembling of the block halves is efiected immediately upon completion of the molding oper-' ation, the aluminum is quickly melted and operates to effectively fuse the edge portions together. Various other methods of uniting the block halves may be resorted to, such for example as dipping the edge portions into a. bath of molten metal in the fashion disclosed in our application identified above.

In Fig. 5 we have shown a fragmentary wall structure made up of blocks constructed as above described. In this wall structure the parting line or joint between the halves of each hollow block is spaced inwardly from the exposed walls l5 or races and by reason of this location of the joints or parting lines, the mortar serves to further .seal the blocks and afiords additional protection for the-bonding medium employed in uniting the sections of the block. Further, due to the above described positioning of the joints or parting lines, the exposed faces of the wall are unbroken except for the usual mortar lines which are present in all such wall structures and any desired block face decorations.

In view of the above it will be apparent that the present application is intended to cover a, wallostructure made upof hollow blocks wherein the blocks themselves consist of two or more sections bonded together in such fashion that the ing vmedium, aluminum, aluminum silicon alloy,

copper, etc., and a hollow block made up of sections joined together in such fashion thatthe joint is spaced inwardly from the exposed faces of the block. I

Modifications may be resorted .to within the spirit and scope of the app nded claims.

, We claim: v

1. A hollow glass bulldim iblock comprising a Joint between the sections is obscured from view. j

' sections bonded together, each section including pair of molded cup-like sections having? abutting edge portions and a loonoling meol consisting Y solely of a coating ol olnum applied dlre'etly to said edge portions and hermetically sealing the block.

2. A. hollow glass building block comprislng e, pair of molded cup-like sections having abutting edge portions and. a bonding medlum ooosistlrag solely of o coating of aluminum sillcon alloy ego plied directly to sold edge oortlons and her metlcallysealing the block.

3. A. hollow glass building block comprising tratlng the glass and. constituting the sole means z for waiting the block sections.

4. A hollow glass building block comprising a pair of molded sections having edge portions intended to be united and a bonding medium conslstlog solely of a coating of aluminum applied directly to sold edge portions and hermetically sealing the block.

5. A well structure comprising courses of hollow seotlonal gloss blocks and a bonding medlum permanently uniting the sections and consisting solely of a, coating of aluminum applied directly tothe abutting edges of the sections, said edges being spaced inwardly from the exposed faces of the wall.

WELARD P. ZIMME.

0'! K. HOLMES. 

